Fastening inserting mechanisms



April 22, 1958 F. E. STRATTON 2,831,191

FASTENING INSERTING MECHANISMS I Original Filed Aug. 21, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Frank E fizfmtton 133 By his fizftorney April 22, 1958 F. E. STRATTON FASTENING INSERTING MECHANISMS Original Filed Aug. 21, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 [nuen for rank Edtratton 16 By his fitter-nay A ril 22, 1958 F. E. STRATTON 2,831,191

FASTENING INSERTING MECHANISMS Original Filed Aug. 21, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 3 fiwan for" FrankZ i'dfraffon 55/ his Aflorhe A ril 22, 1958 F. E. STRATTON 2,831,191

' FASTENING INSERTING MECHANISMS Original Filed Aug. 21, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 fiwenzor Frank EStrattOn By his Attorney April 22, 1958 F. E. STRATTON, 9

FASTENING INSERTING MECHANIDSMS Original Filed Aug. 21, 1953 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 i'l'o 100 Invenfor Fran/4' EST/Q1701? By bis/1 ffor'ney f axing? United States Patent FASTENING INSERTING MECHANISMS Original application August 21, 1953, Serial No. 375,692,

now Patent No. 2,799,875, dated July 23, 1957. Di-

vided and this application January 31, 1956, Serial No. 562,482

3 Claims. (Cl. 11-181) This invention relates to shoe machines and is herein illustrated in its application to machines for inserting fastenings for securing a shoe upper to an insole on a last bottom, this being a division of my application for United States Letters Patent Serial No. 375,692, filed August 21, 1953, now Patent No. 2,799,875, granted July 23, 1957, which discloses a machine for use in assembling shoe upper parts upon a last and shaping portions of the shoe upper parts about the last.

The shaping of the breast line portions of shoe uppers usually involves manual operations to eliminate any wrinkles that may have occurred in the upper parts and to insure the proper position of the upper parts relatively to each other and to the last.

It is an object of the present invention to provide an upper shaping machine the construction and operation of which permits the performance of manual operations at the breast line while the shoe is supported in the machine. It is a further object of the invention to provide an organization which facilitates the manual operations at the breast line and enables the operator to perform them more' quickly, accurately and reliably than heretofore. It is a still further object of the invention to provide automatic mechanism which operates after the performance of the manual operations above referred to, to wipe the lasting margin at the breast line portion of the upper in over an insole on the last bottom and while the upper is held in lasted position to drive fastenings, such for example as tacks, to secure the upper to the insole in lasted position.

With the above and other objects in view, the present invention in one aspect thereof consists in the provision in a shoe machine of means for securing the overwiped margin of a shoe upper to an insole on a last bottom comprising a spring actuated tack driver lever for actuating a driving means incorporated in a wiper assembly and means for energizing the spring comprising an actuator which operates through link and lever connections which are breakable by a reverse movement of the actuator to permit the spring to operate the tack driving means. When the machine is at rest a locking member or bolt holds the actuator, in the illustrated organization a pressure fluid operated piston, against reverse movement in order to prevent inadvertent operation of the tack driving means by manipulation of the operating mechanism.

. For securing the overwiped margin of a shoe upper to the heel end portion of an insole the illustrated machine is provided with three wiper assemblies each of which is characterized by the incorporation therein of a tack driving organization of the type described in the preceding paragraph, and means for energizing the spring comprising an actuator which operates through connections which are breakable by a reverse movement of" the actuator, to permit the spring to operate the tack driver. When the machine is at rest alocking member or bolt holds the actuator, in the illustrated organization a pressure fluid operated piston, against reverse movement in order to prevent inadvertent operation of a tack driver by manipulation of the operating mechanism.

These and other features of the invention will now be described with reference to the accompanying drawings and pointed out in the appended claims.

In the drawings,

Fig. l is a perspective view of a machine embodying the features of the present invention;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged view in right side elevation of the head of the machine with a portion of the machine frame broken away;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged view in front elevation of the wiper and tacker unit which operates at the left side of the breast line portion of the upper;

Fig. 4 is a view of the head of the machine partly in right side elevation and partly in section on the line IVIV of Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a view partly in front elevation and partly in section on the line VV of Fig. 4; I

Fig. 6 is a section on the line VIVI of Fig. 7; and

Fig. 7 is a front elevation showing a shoe in the machine after the completion of the tack driving operation, the shoe being shown in cross section on the axis of the last pin and the back line wipers being shown in section on the axes of the tack driving pins.

The invention is embodied in a hydraulically operated machine in which a last having shoe upper parts mounted thereon is supported in inverted position on a last pin projecting upwardly from a work supporting member which, in its rest position, is inclined forwardly into a position convenient for the mounting of the last on the last pin and the performance of manual operations on the upper. For positioning the upper relatively to the last for the operations to be performed thereon the work supporting assembly has mounted thereon a manually operated gripper constructed and arranged to engage the toe end of the upper and to impart toeward tension to the upper and to hold the upper so tensioned during the manual operations on the upper and during the operation of the machine. During the power cycle of the machine the work support is moved rearwardly and then upwardly 'to advance the last .and the upper thereon to an operating station where a plurality. of lasting Wipers wipe the back line portion and the breast line portions of the upper materials in over an insole on the last bottom. Upon the completion of the wiping operations the release of latches permits previously loaded springs to drive six tacks, two at 0pposite sides of the heel breast portion and two at the back line to secure the overlasted margin of the upper together with the flange of the counter and the margin of the lining to the insole on the last bottom. Immediately after the tack driving operations the tack drivers are retracted and the tack driving springs are reloaded for the next succeeding operation of the machine. After the driving springs have been reloaded locking members are advanced to hold the tack drivers in their retracted positions and thus to prevent inadvertent release of the tack drivers when the machine is at rest. Substantially concomitantly with the retraction of the tack drivers the work supporting assembly is moved downwardly and then swung forwardly into its initial or rest position whereupon the shoe clamping instrumentalities are disengaged from the shoe upper, thus terminating the power cycle of the machine. Thereup'o'n the toe gripper is manually disengaged from the'upper,

and the last, with the shoe upper parts assembled thereon, is removed from the machine.

Referring now to Fig. l, the illustrated machine comprises a base frame which houses the power plant and the hydraulic valve assemblies, a head frame 12 and a housing 14 mounted on the top of the head frame and enclosing mechanism for adjusting certain operating instrumentalities. The head frame comprises two side plates 16 which are supported on the top of the base frame and converge upwardly from the base frame to the housing. The side plates are connected together by a front plate 18 the opposite side edges of which are welded to the forward edges of the side plates. The head frame is supported by its bottom edges on the top of the base frame 10 and is offset inwardly slightly from the front and the sides of the base frame. The head frame is characterized by a lower portion which houses parts of the work supporting assembly and a waist portion in which the front plate is offset rearwardly at 20 and occupies a position substantially midway between the front and the back of the machine. The front plate curves upwardly and rearwardly from the base frame to the rearwardly ofiset portion 20 which extends vertically upward to the housing 14. The upper portions of the side plates 16 have forward extensions or wings 22 on which are mounted certain operating instrumentalities. The housing 14 has mounted therein mechanism for adjusting the operating instrumentalities in accordance with the size of the shoe to be operated upon. A tack supplying and feeding mechanism of known construction is mounted on the top of the housing 14 and arranged to supply tacks to tack driving mechanisms hereinafter described.

For wiping the lasting margin of the back line portion of the upper over the insole on the last bottom and for holding the lasting margin overwiped while fastenings, herein illustrated as tacks, are driven to secure the lasting margin in overwiped position, the illustrated machine is provided with a back line wiper 24 (Fig. 4) the lower portion of which is bifurcated to straddle the shank portion 26 (Fig. 2) of a holddown 28. For wiping the lasting margin at opposite sides of the breast line portion of the upper inwardly over the insole and holding it in lasted position while fastenings are driven, the illustrated machine isprovided with breast line wipers 30 and 32 (Fig. 5 positioned at opposite sides of the breast line portion of the shoe for operative movement widthwise of the shoe.

The illustrated machine is provided with three substantially identical tack driving instrumentalities for driving lasting tacks at the back line and at opposite sides of the breast line, each of the instrumentalities being equipped to drive two tacks. At the right side of the breast line tacks are driven through suitable apertures in the breast line wiper 32 by a tack driving means of known construction. As shown in Fig. 5, the tack driving means comprises two pins 33 mounted in suitable bores in the lower portion of a wiper carrier 35, the pins being mounted in a tack driver bar 34 slidably mounted for vertical movement in a counterbore in the upper portion of the wiper carrier. The tack driving assembly comprising the bar 34 and the pins 33 is actuated by a lever 36 having a ball-and-socket connection to the upper end of the bar. The connection of the lever 36 to the tack driver bar provides the sole support for the upper extremity of the wiper tacker assembly and determines the angular disposition thereof relatively to the bottom of the last. For actuating a tack driver lever 38 (Fig. 4) to operate the tack driver assembly located at the back line portion of the shoe a spring 40 is anchored at its rear end to an arm 42 projecting upwardly and rearwardly from the hub portion of the tack driver lever and at its forward end in an eye in the head of a bolt 44 mounted in a crosshead 46 connecting two bosses 48. Similarly two tack driver springs are provided for actuating the driver assemblies which drive tacks through the overlasted margin of the upper and the insole at opposite sides of the breast line portion of the upper, one of these springs being identified in Fig. 4 by the numeral 50. The three tack driver springs are loaded by the operation of three pistons, respectively, mounted in three vertical bores in a block 52 fixed to a vertical crosshead 54 connecting the side plates 16 of the head frame. In Fig. 4 a piston for loading the tack driver spring 50 is illustrated, said piston comprising a head 56 at the lower end of a piston rod 58. The connections between the piston rod and the tack driver lever 36 comprise a triangular head 60 fixed to the upper end of the piston rod and a link 62 pivotally mounted in the upper portion of the head 60 and extending upwardly therefrom to the rear end of the tack driver lever. The upper portion of the link has formed therein a right-angular slot 64 through which extends a pin 66 mounted in the rear portion of the tack driver lever. During the downward movement of the piston to load the tack driver spring 50 the pin 66 is seated at the forward extremity of the horizontal portion of the slot 64 and is yieldingly held in this position by the tension of a spring 68 the upper end of which is anchored at its upper end to an arm 70 extending rearwardly with an upward inclination from the lower extremity of the link 62 and anchored at its lower end to the rear end portion of the head 60. It will be understood that the spring 50 actuates the tack driver lever 36 when the link 62 is swung forwardly to bring the vertical portion of the slot 64 into alinement with the pin 66. In the illustrated organization such forward movement of the link 62 is effected during the initial stage of the upward movement of the piston 58. The upward movement of the piston brings an inclined surface at the forward end of an arm 72 projecting forwardly from the lower portion of the link 62 into engagement with a latch member 74 which offers sufiicient resistance to the upward movement of the arm to cause the link to swing forwardly sufliciently to bring the vertical portion of the slot 64 into alinement with the pin 66. The latch member 74 is a cylindrical element having latch surfaces formed in its rear portion and having its body portion bored from its forward end for the greater part of its length to receive a latch spring 76. The latch member is slidably mounted in a bore in an elongated boss 78 projecting rearwardly from the vertical section 20 of the front plate of the head frame. For holding the latch member 74 against rotary movement and for limiting its rectilinear movement a screw 80 is mounted in the boss 78 and has its reduced end portion positioned in a slot in the latch member. The forward end of the spring 76 is seated in a socket in the rear end of a slide 82 mounted in the forward portion of the bore in the boss 78 and the slide is movable in the bore to vary the pressure of the spring 76 by adjusting an abutment screw 84 against which the forward end of the slide is seated.

In order to provide a pocket for receiving tacks preparatory to the driving operation each wiper assembly includes a tack receiving organization which, in general, is of known construction. Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, the wiper member 24, which operates at the back line portion of the upper, includes two plates 86 through which the driver pins 33 operate and two members 88 each of which is grooved horizontally at opposite sides of its lower end portion to receive the shank portions of two members 94 having heads 96 which are extended laterally to meet at the axis of the driving pin 33 and have their contiguous surfaces suitably recessed to provide a tack pocket. The heads 96 are yieldable held in mutually contacting position by a torsion spring 100 having rectilinear legs 101 mounted in grooves in the members 94. It will be understood that the heads 96 are separated by the advancement of the tack driving pin 33 to permit a tack mounted in the tack pocket to be driven. Referring to Fig. 5, each'of the breast line wipers 30 and 32 is provided with tack pocket members similar to those above described but extending in the direction of the wiping movement of the wiper members. The tack pocket members, which are identified by the numeral 1113, are mounted in suitable grooves in wiper plates 105, said plates having openings 107 which provide space for the heads of the tack pocket members. As shown in Fig. 3, each breast line wiper assembly is provided with two wiper plates 105 arranged in mutually contiguous relation and bolted to thet wiper carrier 35, and each wiper plate has its own tack driving pin 33 and a pair of tack pocket members 94.

In order to prevent unintentional release of the tack driver springs by inadvertent manipulation of the arm 42 or one of its two companion arms, the illustrated machine is provided with means for positively holding the piston rod 58 (Fig. 4) and its companion piston rods (not shown) against upward movement. In the illustrated organization the locking mechanism comprises a headed plunger 102 mounted in a horizontal bore in the block 52 which communicates with the bore in which the piston 56 is mounted. As long as hydraulic pressure is maintained in the machine the plunger 192 is held retracted as shown in Fig. 4, by fluid pressure entering the block 52 through a port 104. When the fluid pressure in the system is released a spring 106 mounted in a socket in the head of the plunger 102 and confined between the plunger and a plug 108 expands to advance the tapered end portion of the plunger into a peripheral groove 110 in the piston 56, thus locking the piston against vertical movement. The plunger remains in locking position until hydraulic pressure comes on again when pressure fluid entering the port 104 moves the plunger 102 to the right, withdrawing it from the groove in the piston 56.

Inasmuch as there is no provision in the illustrated machine for adjustment of the three lasting wipers as a unit heightwise of the shoe, means is provided for adjusting the position of the shoe itself heightwise thereof in accordance with variations in the thicknesses of the overlasted materials. In the illustrated organization the position of the shoe heightwise thereof is detemined by an abutment rod 112 which limits the upward movement of the shoe and its supporting assembly by the engagement therewith of the holddown arm 28, as shown in Fig. 5. Accordingly, the adjustment of the position of the shoe heightwise thereof is effected by a vertical adjustment of the abutment rod 112. To this end the upper portion of the abutment rod 112, as shown in Fig. 5, is threaded for engagement in a threaded axial bore in a worm gear 114 which is held against vertical movement between the lower end of a hollow boss 116 extending downwardly from the top plate 118 of the housing 14 and parallel ears 120 projecting rearwardly from the front wall of the housing. For rotating the worm gear 114 in order to adjust the vertical position of the abutment rod a worm shaft 122 is mounted in a bearing in the front wal of the housing and has fixed thereto a worm 124 arranged to mesh with the worm gear. To provide for manual rotation of the worm shaft a knob 126 (Fig. 1) is fixed to that portion of the shaft projecting forwardly from the housing.

In the preparation of the work for the operation of the illustrated machine thereon a cement treated counter is manually inserted into the heel end portion of a lined upper and the assembly is mounted on a last to the bottom of which an insole has been attached. After adjusting the assembly relatively to the last the last with the assembly thereon is mounted on a last pin 128 on a work supporting member 130 and is so oriented that the longitudinal median line of the rear part last lies substantially in a vertical plane extending from front to back of the machine. While the shoe upper parts are manually held in adjusted position on the last, the operator depresses a treadle 132 (Fig. 1) to cause two presser members or clamps 134 to be advanced by power into engagement with the back line portion of the upper in order to hold it against dislocation relatively to the last. The toe end of the upper is then inserted into the jaws of the toe pincer 136 which is manually operated to tension the upper lengthwise of the last. The operator then adjusts the shoe upper parts at the heel breast line with the aid of hand pincers and thereupon two pressure pads or clamps 138 and 140 (Fig. 5) are advanced by power into engagement with opposite sides of the heel portion of the upper to clamp the shoe upper parts to the last in the position in which they are located by the hand pincers. The operator then depresses the treadle 132 to initiate the final part of the power cycle. During this part of the cycle the work supporting assembly is swung rearwardly into an upright position and moved upwardly to bring it into a position determined by the engagement of the holddown arm 28 (Fig. 5) with the lower end of the abutment rod 112. Thereupon, the back line wiper 24 (Fig. 4) and the breast line wipers 30 and 32 are operated concomitantly to wipe the lasting margin of the upper in over the insole, and while the wipers remain in their advanced positions the piston 58 and its two companion pistons are moved upwardly to release the levers 36 and 38 which operate the tack driving instrumentalities incorporated in the wiper assemblies to secure the overlasted marginal portions of the upper together with the flange of the counter and the bottom margin of the lining to the insole. Continued upward movement of the piston after the tacks have been driven brings the link 62 into its latched position relatively to the tack driver lever 36 and similarly positions the two links which operate on the tack driver levers 38. Immediately thereafter, the piston 58 and its two companion pistons are moved downwardly by fluid pressure into their position illustrated in Fig. 4, thus swinging the tack driver levers 36 and 38 in a clockwise direction, as seen in Fig. 4, to retract the tack drivers and to energize or load the tack driver springs 40 and 50. Thereupon the power operated instrumentalities and the clamping members are retracted and the work supporting assembly is returned to its rest position illustrated in Fig. 1. Thereupon, the toe gripper jaws are manually opened and returned to their rest position and the last, with the upper parts assembled thereon, is removed from the work supporting assembly.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United states isz 1. In a shoe machine a tack driver lever, a spring for operating the tack driver lever, an actuater for imparting angular movement to the lever thereby to energize the spring, a link connecting the actuator to the lever, means providing a breakable connection between the link and the lever, and means effective during reverse movement of the actuator to cause the connections between the link and the lever to be broken.

2. In a shoe machine a tack driver lever, a spring for operating the tack driver lever, an actuator for imparting angular movement to the lever thereby to energize the spring, a link connecting the actuator to the lever, means providing a breakable connection between the link and the lever, and a latch operable during reverse movement of the actuator to cause the connections between the link and the lever to be broken.

3. In a shoe machine a tack driver, a tack driver lever, a spring for actuating the tack driver lever, a pressure fluid actuated piston for energizing the spring, breakable connections between the piston and the tack driver lever, and means operable to lock the piston against movement and retractable to unlock the piston.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 403,886 Holland May 21, 1889 2,154,755 Krantz Apr. 18, 1939 2,558,403 Wandel June 26, 1951 

